WESTCOTT, A.G.B. - Untitled Fern and Flower Herbarium [Self-published, 1929-1932]

[London, Wales] WESTCOTT, A.G.B. Untitled Fern and Flower Herbarium.

London: Self-published, 1929-1932. Album, 12.25” x 10”, 52pp with 50 dried plant samples on 19pp (the balance being blank). Black bonded leather covered boards with floral design and simple title of “Album”. Owner’s name inside front cover. Edges of boards quite worn, binding cracked after first gathering. Most specimens firmly attached with a few detached leaves. Most samples well labeled with a few near the rear left to the imagination. Locations given include Stanmore Common, N. Wales, Devon, and Chiltern Hills. Very Good-.

During the height of pteridomania, Britain's fascination with ferns spilled from scientific circles into drawing rooms and garden paths, inspiring thousands of amateur collectors. While the national obsession had cooled by the 1930s, its influence lingered, especially in places like Stanmore Common, where woodland species still invited careful study and display. This album carries that spirit forward—part botanical record, part personal expression. It offers a late echo of a uniquely British cultural phenomenon, preserved in pressed fronds and tidy handwritten labels.